One of Montreal’s true urban sugar shacks, the newly-opened La Cabane, involves none of the above. More of an homage to Québec’s maple traditions than a replica of the real thing, it is a hip and happening pop-up restaurant which will serve, until April 15, a tasting menu concocted by star chefs Patrice Demers and Marc-André Jetté, co-owners of the equally hip Les 400 Coups restaurant in Old Montreal.

The dishes manage to allude to Québec peasant classics while keeping a definitive edge of sophistication and modernity. Turkey is prepared sous-vide (vacuum-sealed) to preserve all its juices. Maple appears here and there, as tiny clusters to add crunch or in a jelly atop a chicken-liver mousse – but it’s never too much, never cloying.

Guests eat all at once and at communal tables, inside an airy, hangar-type space in Montreal’s Old Port, amidst funky forest-themed work by local artists. A beautiful knitted wool instalation sits beside a hedge of tree branches and maple-collecting tin buckets, while a giant stuffed moose head serves as centerpiece in the dining hall.

As a parting gift, dollops of Québec ice cider are poured on snow and rolled up as lollipops, in the old tire-sur-la-neige tradition (an elegant and decidedly less sweet version of the maple-syrup original).

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THE DETAILSA

La Cabane: until April 15th in the Old Port of Montreal, directly below the Jacques Cartier esplanade. Wednesday-Saturday (one seating at 6:30pm) Sunday (one seating at 11:30am). $55 per person, $15 for children under 12, (514) 444-4383

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